As election bugles start sounding in five states, including Rajasthan, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has announced the intention to conduct a caste-based census in these states. The proposal for a caste-based census was passed in the Congress Working Committee, making it clear that the party will move forward with this agenda. Now, it is evident that in the upcoming elections in November in these five states, Congress will emphasize caste-based census, while the BJP will focus on the issue of 33% reservation for women.
During the meeting of the working committee, Rahul Gandhi, along with the Chief Ministers of all four states – Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan, S. Siddaramaiah of Karnataka, Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh, and Sukhwindar Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh, discussed conducting caste-based census in their respective states. Additionally, he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not wanting a caste-based census in the country.
Congress had called a meeting of the working committee to discuss its election strategy in the five states. At the same time, the Election Commission was announcing the election schedules for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram. As soon as the election schedules were announced, Congress also raised the issue of a caste-based census. While Chief Minister Gehlot had announced the intention to conduct a caste-based census in Rajasthan a day earlier, Congress has now made it a key issue in the five states’ elections.
It remains uncertain how this move by Congress will affect the elections in these states. Currently, Congress is hopeful of winning by relying on Chief Minister Gehlot’s plans and decisions. However, the real issue now is the distribution of tickets. BJP has already gained an advantage by announcing 41 candidates, including 7 MPs, without worrying about the ancestral connection. Congress is yet to finalize its candidates. The way BJP released its first list without caring about dynastic connections has increased pressure on Congress to announce its candidates soon.
